Mental computation
What do we mean by mental computation?
When people hear the term "mental computation" many think of the mental arithmetic problems they did at school. Mental arithmetic focuses on producing correct answers quickly. While not neglecting the correctness of the answer, mental computation emphasises the mental processes used to achieve the answer. To develop mental computation in the classroom, teachers can encourage students to explain how they arrived at their answers and to compare their strategies with those of other students. Number sense refers to a person’s understanding of number concepts, operations, and applications of numbers and operations. It includes the ability and inclination to use this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgements and to develop useful strategies for handling numbers and operations. Hence, mental computation is closely linked to the development of number sense. Emphasising mental computation supports effective numeracy since mental computation is commonly used for calculations by adults and is the simplest way of doing many calculations.
Demonstrating the split method
This animation shows how the split method can be used to add two digit numbers.
Demonstrating the jump method
Calculating 55 - 27 on the empty number line.
Valuing mental computation website
This website explains mental computation and offers classroom activities to develop students' mental computation strategies.
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